Precious Cherry Blossom
by LoveShinobi4eva
Summary: Two samurai go on a journey for their master to bing back his bride to be. But what happens when one of the samurai falls in love with the princess to be married and his lost memories start to resurface?
1. The beginning of the Journey

**A/n: Well here is my first story in a really long time. I know you all want me to update my other stories too, but I will get to those when I get to them. You can't rush these things. I got a new idea for a story and I am going to try and show my growth as a writer over the time I have been gone. I hope you all enjoy the story. Please review.**

**Precious Cherry Blossom**

The moon shone brightly in the cloudless sky, the night was silent and still. There was a large, estate on the mountain side surrounded by trees. The only way to access the old clan house was the mountain trail that was under constant watch. Inside the main house, in a large room overlooking the beautiful garden in the rear, a handsome man lounged on a zabuton. His dark black hair matched perfectly with his black eyes. He looked around the room, trying to find something to spark his interest. There was nothing but his two most trusted guards, who sat next to each other on the other side of the room. "Is something troubling you Sasuke?" the blonde one asked, seeing his master looking around the room.

"No Naruto," Sasuke sighed and sat up, his navy blue kimono falling loose from his chest. "Just wondering when we will get any news from the doctor," he finished looking at Naruto and his silent companion. "What do you think Gaara? Do you think Itachi will live?" Sasuke asked, a smile creeping up his face.

The red head looked up respectfully, his gaze meeting Sasuke. "I certainly hope so," he mumbled out almost silently. Naruto and Gaara were both dressed traditionally like samurai, they each had two swords fastened to their side just in case they were needed. Soft footsteps echoed down the hall until finally one of the servants appeared in the room with a grave look settled upon her face. Her brown hair was tossed up in a messy bun, presentable but showing her status.

"Sasuke-sama, I bring you terrible news. Your elder brother has finally succumbed to his illness. He left this world just a moment ago. Lady Shizune is distressed beyond words, would you like to go comfort her?" the young servant girl asked politely.

Sasuke just laughed, Gaara glanced over to Naruto a frown set in on his face. "I'll go see to lady Shizune." The red head muttered, getting up easily and walking out of the room. Sasuke's laughter echoed down the halls as Gaara made his way to Uchiha Itachi's room. Once he reached the door to the room, he slid it open slowly and saw the grieving woman.

"Lady Shizune, are you alright?" he asked simply, staring at the sobbing woman with his pale blue eyes.

The dark haired woman turned around and looked up at him, "Oh Gaara!" she sobbed out, crying into her hands now. "Gaara I don't know what to do, Itachi-sama…he's…he's gone" she choked out. Gaara walked in and kneeled beside her, ready to be the shoulder she needed. As soon as he was near enough Shizune moved from her hands to his shoulder. Gaara awkwardly patted Shizune on the back, he wasn't too used to this situation, he was Sasuke's guard and he rarely saw the head of the family's wife.

"It will be alright Lady Shizune, you are at least bearing Itachi-sama's child and once the child is born you will have a piece of him with you always. Something that you shared with him, but Shizune…I think you best be on your guard. Sasuke-sama has been acting oddly ever since Itachi-sama fell ill. I think something might be going on with him, just be careful." Gaara spoke up, trying to comfort her and warn her all at the same time. Shizune looked up at him, tears filling her eyes and nodded slowly. She seemed to understand what Gaara was trying to say to her and she knew Sasuke just as well as he did. Everyone knew Sasuke wanted to be the head of the house and now that Itachi was out of the way his dream was within reach.

Gaara grabbed onto Shizune's shoulders and pulled her away just a bit, "I must get back to Sasuke-sama now, if you need anything please don't hesitate to ask."

Shizune nodded and gave Gaara a weak smile. "Thank you Gaara, I will."

Gaara nodded and got up, leaving Shizune to grieve her dead beloved. He made his way back to the room where Sasuke was with Naruto and stopped in the door way. "Ah perfect timing Gaara, I need to tell you about your new mission." Sasuke smirked, looking like he had just won a battle of some sort. Gaara walked into the room and took a seat beside Naruto on the floor and waited for Sasuke to go on. Naruto looked angry, almost on the verge of fighting but was sitting in restraint. Sasuke nodded and took a small cup, sipping some sake. "I was just telling Naruto here how I made an arrangement with the Haruno clan to take their princess as my bride. Since I am the new head I will need a bride."

Gaara looked taken back, almost shocked but he quickly gained his composure and spoke in a sullen voice. "Sasuke-sama, how could you have done this? Itachi only just died."

Sasuke laughed, smirking at his samurai guard. "Gaara, I made contact with the Haruno clan the moment my brother fell ill. I knew he wouldn't make it through this and with his child unborn then there is no one else to take the place as head. So to take my rightful place I will marry the princess of Haruno, Haruno Sakura." He looked down into the sake cup and swirled the last of the mix around carefully. "Now all that's left to do is for you and Naruto to go get her for me," Sasuke said, uninterested with the reactions of his two loyal guards. Gaara and Naruto stared in utter disbelief, how heartless could you be? Sasuke looked up, surprised by their lack of movement. He lifted his hand and dismissed them, "What are you waiting for? Go and get ready, you leave first thing in the morning. I need my bride here as soon as possible."

Gaara stood up suddenly and moved swiftly from the room, Naruto looked after him and got up as well following him out. They both headed down the halls of the Uchiha mansion in a hurry, once they reached a long hall with only a few rooms attached Gaara threw one of the doors open and went inside followed by Naruto. "Gaara…?" Naruto tried to register with his friend but all he was answered with was a flying ink pot. The small flask shattered against the wall and ink dripped down the wall slowly.

"What kind of monstrous person cares nothing for his own brother?! This is disgraceful, I can't even fathom how much you must not care for someone to go ahead and make arrangements to take over when they are nowhere near death!" Gaara yelled at the top of his lungs, squatting down and punching the floor to try and calm himself. "What is wrong with Sasuke? How can he do such a horrid thing?" Gaara asked, staring at the ground and then looking up to Naruto for the answer.

Naruto sighed and shook his head, "I don't know Gaara, I don't understand it myself either and it disgusts me to do so but it's our duty to do as our lord tells us."

Gaara slammed his fist into the ground once more, glaring hatefully at the wood. He knew Naruto was right but this all seemed wrong. What was Sasuke thinking, did being the head of the house mean that much that he would wish death upon his own blood? "I'll go gather my things and leave you be. We should get to sleep early if we are to leave at dawn's first light." Naruto breathed and turned his back to Gaara and walked out, shutting the door silently behind him. Gaara shut his eyes tightly and tried to get a hold on himself, he was usually more composed but this had set him on edge.

Finally Gaara pulled himself up and started pulling out the things he would need for the journey, nothing too much because it was a long way to the Haruno clan mansion. Once all his things where tied in a convenient pouch, wrapped with a cloth. He untied his swords from his side and placed them in the corner, leaning against the wall. "Haruno…Sakura? Why does that sound so familiar?" Gaara asked himself, untying his belt and removing his kimono shirt and hanging it in its place. He sighed leaving the pants on and sitting down on his futon and staring at the wall. "It almost feels as if I have met her…" he trailed off, lifting his hand to his face and biting down on his thumb. Gaara let out another sigh and feel back, staring at the ceiling now, "I need to go to sleep, tomorrow will be a long day." He told himself and let his eyes close, but just as his eyes showed he wouldn't be able to fall asleep, just like every other night.

-

"Gaara are you ready?" Naruto's voice came from the other side of the door. The door flew open and Naruto looked in excitedly but groaned, Gaara was fully dressed just now securing his swords to his side. "I was hoping to see you sleepy face," Naruto laughed and gave a bright smile to his best friend.

Gaara laughed softly and shook his head, "Not likely my friend."

Naruto shrugged and walked out of the room, already carrying his things under his arm. Gaara grabbed his as well and went out from his room, shutting the door behind him. The two walked down the halls and to the front room where Sasuke was every morning. They stopped in the doorway, seeing Sasuke was already enjoying his breakfast. He was carrying on as if his brother had not even died. Sasuke looked up and smirked, "Good to see you two are you ready for the journey? How many men will you be taking I want that precious princess brought back safely."

Naruto sighed and gave a sideways glance to Gaara who looked irritated at the sight. Gaara took a deep breath and spoke up, "We will need no one but ourselves. It will be faster and she will be safer with us if we can watch her by ourselves."

Sasuke nodded and lifted his hand to dismiss them once more, "hurry back." He ordered shooing them away. Gaara's left eye twitched in annoyance but he said nothing and bowed respectfully as did Naruto and they both left.

The front door was opened for the two by the servant girl from the night before. Naruto nodded to here in assurance and waved to her as they left. As they started down the mountain path Naruto got a serious look on his face, "Gaara are you alright?"

The red head looked over to his friend about to protest, but he knew Naruto was right. Something was wrong with him, he was irritated with his master that he was to serve till he died. "I don't know what it is Naruto, I've just grown so annoyed with Uchiha Sasuke. It's almost like my body rejects serving him. Almost as if we were supposed to be rivals and yet I force myself to protect him, but I don't know why I feel this way." He sighed and looked forward at the winding path. "Maybe this journey will cool my head from whatever I am feeling. Or maybe I'll look into a deeper part of myself?" he shrugged and crossed his arms comfortably.

"Who knows where this journey will take us." Naruto muttered, smiling happily.


	2. Arrival

**A/n: Yeah chapter two! I am so proud of myself, my first update in a very long time. So Gaara and Naruto are off and since the journey there isn't interesting were just going to skip it to the part where they arrive at the Haruno estate. Well I worked pretty hard on this chapter so I really hope you all like it. Please review.**

Gaara glanced up at the large doors, the only entrance to the Haruno mansion. "This place almost looks bigger than the Uchiha mansion," he stated simply, raising his fist and knocking as loudly as he could on the thick wood. After only a minute the door began to open slowly and a guard came out, eyeing the two of them suspiciously.

"Who are you and state your business." He ordered, he was a tall man with dark brown hair, built with muscle hidden under his clothes.

Naruto sighed while Gaara stepped forward and cleared his throat, "I am Gaara and this is Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke sent us to bring Haruno Sakura to the Uchiha clan to marry. We are Sasuke's personal guards."

The guard nodded, his look showed recognition as if they had been waiting for them to come and get the Haruno princess. "Please come in." he gestured for them to go ahead of him and once they were inside he shut the door to the estate. "Follow me," he ordered, stepping ahead of them and leading through the beautiful garden in the front of the mansion. There were cherry blossoms everywhere in sight, the ground and trees were both covered in the light pink petals.

"You sure have a lot of cherry blossoms," Naruto laughed, looking around and noticing the same thing as Gaara.

"Of course we have many cherry blossom trees. It is out clan's symbol and for what Sakura-sama is named after, her beauty ensures the bloom of every blossom. When she is gone, we will only have these trees to bring us that beauty." The guard said sadly, lowing his head in defeat. He opened the front door and let them in before himself, "Please remove your waraji there and proceed into the main house." He scorned the two, pointing towards the lowered area right before the shined wood floor. Both Gaara and Naruto leaned over and untied their shoes and set them aside, stepping onto the raised level in only their socks. The guard did the same and went ahead of them once more, leading the way down the long halls. He led them to a set of doors, lined with rice paper, he slide one open and stood to the side. "I will go tell the princess you have arrived, please make yourselves comfortable in this room while you wait." He bowed respectfully, now that these two were honored guests in the household.

The guard started down the hallway and Naruto took the liberty to walk into the room and make himself comfortable on an available zabuton. Gaara followed him in and took one as well, sitting next to Naruto and remaining silent. "I wonder what Sakura-sama looks like to be praised so highly," Naruto laughed and looked over at Gaara who had a very serious expression. "Gaara what's wrong?" he asked.

"This place," Gaara began, his gaze turning to concern. "It seems so familiar to me and I don't know why." He finally admitted, gripping tightly on his pants.

Naruto opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by the sound of footsteps. The two looked forward as the door opened revealing a long, pale blonde haired woman dressed in a beautiful purple kimono. "Hello, my name is Ino. I am Sakura-sama's personal maid, she will be with us in just a short moment." She smiled sweetly and sat down across from Naruto, her hair was fine just like a noble but she was a servant. Gaara stared at the blonde curiously, was it only the Uchiha clan who treated their servants as dirt? Itachi treated them well but Sasuke on the other hand. His thoughts were disrupted by the sound of a sliding door, when he looked up he went into shock. There stood the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his entire life, she was dressed in a soft pink kimono made of silk that was decorated with red flower petals. She held an open fan in her hand, hiding most of her face from all except her gorgeous green eyes. Her soft pink hair was up in fine silver hair chop sticks and looked short since it stuck out in the back. Her bangs went off to the right of her face, only shadowing one of her eyes, she was sheer perfection. Her name surely suited her for she was as beautiful as the cherry blossoms and looked just as delicate.

"Sakura-sama these are the two samurai from the Uchiha clan, Naruto and Gaara." Ino said politely, smiling at the princess. One of the names made Sakura look up instantly and her eyes went wide at the sight.

"Gaara-sama?!" she called out, closing the decretive fan quickly revealing her flawless face to the two. Gaara stared back in surprise but he was more confused than in recognition. "Gaara-sama?! Is that truly you?" she asked again, walking towards him and dropping to her knees in front of him. Ino seemed panicked by these actions and got up to try and settle the situation.

"Sakura-sama I don't-" Ino began.

"Silence!" Sakura ordered and reached her hand toward Gaara's face. He should have been alarmed but his body stayed in place, almost longing for her touch. She brushed his dark red bangs from his forehead and he could feel her fingertips on his scar. Her gaze softened and lowered from his scar to his eyes, which were filled with confusion. "It is you…" she breathed out, smiling as if he meant the world to her.

Gaara could do nothing but blink, he had no idea what was going on. This princess was acting as if she knew him but he had never met her before. He had never even been to this area before, only the Uchiha province. "I'm truly sorry but…" he started, pulling away from the princess and looking into her piercing green eyes. "I think you have me confused with someone else," he told her.

Now it was Sakura's turn to look confused, "What are you talking about Gaara-sama? It's you, you're alive and I can't believe it. My heart is overjoyed to see you, I thought you were dead. When you went missing everyone searched for you but everyone assumed…" she stopped in mid-sentence and pain washed over her face. "We thought you had died, but your alive and you can go back to the Sabaku clan!" she cheered happily.

Alarm shot through Gaara, he got up and glared down at this girl who was talking nonsense. "I am sorry but you are mistaken!" he yelled, losing his temper with every word spoken. "I have no idea what you are talking about. I am a samurai dedicated to the Uchiha clan and nothing else. Now stop your lies and stop whatever it is you are doing!" he demanded and turned around leaving the room in a fury.

Sakura reached after him, but he was gone before she could even get a word in to stop him. "But I…" she trailed off, staring after him, tears filling her eyes. "But I know it's him, Sabaku no Gaara, it's him." She told Naruto and Ino with a pleading look in her eyes. Naruto looked down at the princess and then at the empty doorway.

"Sakura-sama, why don't you tell just exactly what happened to this Sabaku no Gaara." Naruto urged to the pink haired woman, who looked lost without Gaara with her. She looked over to the blonde and nodded slowly.

She turned to face Naruto, sitting where Gaara had just been. "You see the Haruno clan and the Sabaku clan are very close with one another and we have been the neutral party between the Sabaku clan and the Uchiha clan. I assume you already knew this though," Sakura said, looking more professional now that she had composed herself. Naruto nodded to her statement, everyone knew the Uchiha clan and the Sabaku clan were enemies. The Haruno clan has always been the third party to all squabbles, the Hyuuga clan always kept to itself. But of the four noble clans the Sabaku clan and Uchiha clan were the most powerful. "The current leader of the Sabaku clan had three children, the eldest was a daughter, the middle was a boy with brown hair, and the youngest was the son chosen to be the next leader and this boy had brilliant red hair. The Sabaku clan sees red hair as a gift from the heavens, blessing their clan with fiery passion."

"Yes everyone knows that, but the second son went missing when he was just a child." Naruto spoke up, not wanting a history lesson, but not knowing that was the key to this mystery.

"Do not interrupt the princess," Ino hissed, glaring the energetic boy down. He bowed his head in apology and mumbled something that sounded like a pardon.

Sakura gave him a comforting smile and continued on, "Well the Sabaku clan would always send Temari-sama and her younger brother, Gaara-sama, to this mansion to visit the Haruno clan. The Gaara I remember from my childhood had red hair just like your Gaara and one time when he came he had a fresh scar of the kanji for love engraved in his forehead." Sakura said sadly, pointing to her own forehead at the exact mark where Gaara's scar was. "Temari-sama told me that he had done it to himself when his uncle told him no one would ever love him because he was the death of his late mother. I was filled with sorrow and I tried to make him smile whenever I could, we were so young but not so young that he would not remember." Sakura glanced down towards the floor and Naruto could see the tears filling her eyes.

"I tried so hard to make him smile and I did…at least once. I told him I was in love with him because it was true and he smiled at me. He told me that he would always protect me, from all danger that may come my way." Sakura smiled sadly, lifting her sleeve to her face and trying to wipe away her tears. "But that was the last time I ever saw him, on their journey home they were attacked and Gaara was kidnapped and no one ever found him. But now he comes to my very home as a samurai from Uchiha and remembers nothing of his past, I don't understand how this can be." She shook her head, another stream of tears falling down her face.

Naruto looked sullen, sad just from this pure girl's tears. "Sakura-sama…I am desperately sorry but Gaara doesn't remember anything and you saying all this to him was a bit much for his already agitated spirit. Uchiha Itachi passed away and Sasuke-sama did not seem to care and this upset Gaara very much. Now if your story is true or not, I do not know but I know Gaara could remember nothing when I first met him as a boy. Forcing him to remember will do no good either and even if he were to remember, you are pledged to marry Uchiha Sasuke." He sighed, letting out a soft and tired breath, this situation had just gotten extremely complicated.

Sakura nodded, Naruto could see she was trembling slightly from the state she was in. But when she spoke her voice was strong and filled with authority, "Your right. I made a promise to marry and I should keep my word. I guess…I am glad to see him once more. I missed him so much." Sakura smiled, her smile was filled with sadness though. Naruto nodded in agreement and so did Ino, Sakura looked back to the door and sighed. "But please you must rest tonight we will leave tomorrow. My things will be ready by then, I promise. I would just like one more night with my family." She asked kindly, Naruto quickly agreed, he was tired and he could not refuse such a request either.

"Of course princess, we will leave tomorrow. Please rest and spend as much time with your family as you need until then." He bowed down and gave her an encouraging smile. With that Sakura got to her feet and headed for the doorway.

"Ino, please show Naruto to a room so he may rest. Thank you," she whispered and left the room without another word. Sakura walked down the open hallways, that looked out onto the inner garden that was filled with all kinds of flowers and a pond loaded with coy fish. She took out her artful fan and opened it up, giving her face a cool breeze. She glanced up and felt her heart nearly skip a beat from the sight approaching her, Gaara was walking towards her staring down at the ground and clearly not paying attention to his surroundings. She began to slow her pace and finally stopped, as she did Gaara looked up and saw her staring at him. He gazed back with his sleep deprived eyes, questions swimming at the edge. She smiled behind her fan, the same eyes he had as a child, she thought.

"Forgive me princess for earlier," Gaara finally spoke, paying his respects.

"Please call me Sakura, Gaara-sama." She answered back, he stiffened at the suffix she added his look of confusion only worsened as he looked more lost than he was just a moment ago. His confusion disappeared and was replaced by determination as he walked boldly up to her and grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer to him. She stared up at him, wide eyed, questions swimming around her own head now. "Gaara-sama?" she questioned, staring straight into his eyes. They stayed like that as he stared into the forest that was her eyes, it felt comfortable and safe, things he shouldn't be feeling for the woman who was about to marry his master. But this feeling, the feeling of belonging and of possession was all too real, but a samurai could never possess a princess of one of the four noble clans. A prince from another clan could though, her words were running around his head now, but that was impossible he told himself. There was no way he could be anything but a loyal samurai it was how he was raised. Gaara released Sakura and walked past her without another word. She turned around and looked after him, her heart dropping like a rock in her chest. She thought for sure he might have been remembering something that would help him. She sighed and opened her fan once more, giving herself a cold air from her nervous state.

-

"Thank you," Gaara nodded to Ino who had just shown him to the room him and Naruto would be staying in. He walked in and saw Naruto unarmed which was unusual for either of them while they were awake.

Naruto turned and saw his friend and smiled happily, "You ready for dinner?"

Gaara thought about his encounter with Sakura just a brief time ago and shook his head in decline, "I think I will go to sleep early tonight and just get breakfast in the morning."

Naruto crossed his arms and stared at Gaara in wonder. "How can you sleep so much yet you have such tired eyes? It just doesn't make sense." He huffed and shrugged walking past the red head and into the hallway. "Well I will bring something back to you just in case, see you in the morning." Naruto waved and closed the door, sealing Gaara in the room alone.

"Finally." Gaara let out a deep breath and took off his swords along with his kimono shirt and set them both aside. He was tired of being awake and it was better to pretend to be asleep than deal with this weird problem. He laid down on the futon and closed his eyes wishing for once he could actually sleep, but sleep did not take him and he heard when Naruto returned later that night and then when the snores started. This was going to be a long night.


	3. The Start

**A/n: Yes, chapter three. Now I got a review that said they didn't have much personality so I really tried to work on that in this chapter. Please tell me what you think and I do like criticism so if you have something to say please say it. Thanks for all who have reviewed! It makes me truly happy and I do try to reply to all the reviews that don't simply say 'Please update.' So I hope you enjoy this next chapter and I will work very hard on the next as well! Please review!!!**

Gaara tied his sash tightly, taking up one of his swords and fastening it to his side. He looked down and grimaced at the sight, how he wished he could sleep. He grabbed his second sword and looked forward, trying to avoid the drunken scene of Naruto on the floor. Once both his swords were in place he stepped over the snoring man and slide the door open. He sighed deeply and closed the door silently, Naruto talked far too much when he was drunk. Finally Gaara's bored expression returned to his face as he walked down the silent halls. While he was "asleep" he had tried thinking back as far as he could remember. Despite the absurdity of what Sakura had said, he found himself mulling over every little thing from his remembered childhood. Unfortunately he had only been able to back track to his arrival at Naruto's house, to be raised as a samurai. Gaara groaned aloud, his pace beginning to slow from his agonizing head ache, shutting his eyes tightly. He raised his hand to his head and tried to ease the throbbing by rubbing his temples.

"Gaara-sama?" a familiar voice came from directly in front of him. Sakura stared at him in concern, her worry written all over her face. The forest in her eyes seemed to move slowly, as if the trees were being blown by the wind. She was dressed less like a princess today and more like a commoner woman in a very nice kimono. It was a pale green with pink cherry blossom petals falling all over the fabric.

"Must you call me that?" he finally muttered out, looking away from her enchanting eyes.

Sakura frowned, letting out a soft sigh. "To me you are Gaara-sama, does it bother you so much that it must be stopped?" she asked, staring up at him trying to get the answer she wanted out of him.

Gaara glanced back at her, seeing her want and decided he would play along with this princess' games. "Yes." He said simply, unable to keep the small smirk from appearing on his face. Sakura's eyes widened just a fraction, but she smiled back at him deviously. It was going to be a clash against their wills from now on to see who would win the rights of calling him 'sama' or making her stop. "Why are you dressed like that Prin-" he was stopped in midsentence by a threatening glare from Sakura, daring him to finish what he was about to call her. He blinked, quickly recovering and corrected himself immediately. "I meant…why are you dressed like that Sakura?"

Sakura smiled brightly and raised her arms to show off her kimono, she was a princess after all and she loved clothes. "Well I thought that it would probably be less conspicuous if I looked more like a normal woman then a princess. Don't people try and attack princess' and get ransom?" she asked curiously, clapping her hands together and staring up at him. Gaara was in awe, apparently she wasn't just a pretty face she had a brain under that pink hair of hers.

"Well yes. That's a very good idea, did you think of that yourself?" he questioned, trying not to sound too degrading to her smarts. Sakura nodded, letting a warm smile grace her face. She showed no sign of offense, but that was always a good sign. The last thing Gaara wanted to deal with was a pissed off woman. "Well it was very brilliant." He told her once more, only making a small pink blush rise to her cheeks.

"You think so? Well thank you Gaara-sama," she replied back, looking back over her shoulder and to the empty hall. "Well all my things are ready and I have said my goodbyes as soon as you are ready we can have breakfast and depart for my new home." She told him, looking almost perfect in this charade. Gaara studied her face carefully, he could see the strain from forcing herself to smile. Was it truly that bad to marry Sasuke? Or was it something else, none the less Gaara was not fooled by this fake happiness. Especially since he had just seen her true smile moments before.

'_I just want to see you smile'_

The thought flashed through Gaara's mind so fast it had given him a jolt. He hand went to his head to try and ease the sudden pain. It came and went so fast he couldn't grab a hold on the thought to decipher what it had meant. He suddenly felt soft hands against his face, caring and holding him closely and protectively. He opened his eyes slowly, seeing Sakura holding his face with her pale hands. Her face was filled with shock and alarm, concern and worry, she couldn't have hidden these emotions even if she wanted to. "Gaara are you alright?" she asked, his name without the suffix sounded so nice when it was said in her voice. He suddenly realized he was looking up at her face and soon saw that he was kneeling on the ground and so was she, holding him protectively. When had he fallen? Was the shock that bad? And what was it even from? 'I want to see you smile' he repeated in his head, but it was different in his mind. When he heard the voice it was beautiful, like silver bells ringing. Was it a memory from his past that he could no longer remember? What was it that he had been thinking of when the thought struck him so hard, Gaara closed his eyes once more and tried to think back on it.

'What was it?!' he yelled at himself, remembering the scene from just moments before. He remembered Sakura's sorrow filled smile that she tried to masquerade for him. The thought flowed into his mind once more and he heard the soft voice, 'I want to see you smile.' That voice sounded extremely familiar and then there it was again calling his name out. That's when he realized Sakura was screaming his name and he finally slammed back into reality, tears were streaming down her face. She looked stunning even when her face was wet and her eyes were puffy and red, "Gaara!" she yelled again, giving him a shake to try and wake him. "Gaara please!" she screamed louder, as if she was trying to reach him with her voice.

He stirred slowly and gripped only her hand, looking up into her eyes to show her he was fine. "I'm fine Sakura, please…do not shed your tears for me." Gaara realized seeing her cry clawed at his heart deeply and cupped her face with one of his hands, trying to wipe the tears away. "I really am alright, I didn't have a lot of sleep because of Naruto last night," he lied

She still held onto him tightly, but Gaara could hear footsteps rushing towards them. No doubt Sakura's wailing had alerted all the guards in this area of the house and they would be here soon. That was something he did not want to deal with. He pulled his hand away from Sakura's sorrowful face and stood up, helping her up along with himself. He let go just in time as the guards rounded the corner and rushed to the aid of their princess.

"Princess! Princess!" they called loudly, surrounding the two. Most of the group was glaring at Gaara as if he had done something wrong, or tried to kill their precious cherry blossom. "Princess are you alright?" the same soldier asked, seeing her slightly red eyes.

Sakura smiled, putting on the act for them as she had tried to do with Gaara. "Oh it's nothing, please you all must calm down. Gaara-sama just wasn't feeling well and I got a little carried away with my worry." She told them, well it was sort of the truth.

Most of them relaxed and nodded, talking amongst themselves and saying how caring she was and that not even the stars in the sky could amount to her endless love. Gaara rolled his eyes, nothing bothered him more then unnecessary adoration. "Well thank you for your concern but were off to breakfast!" Sakura smiled, wiping her face with her sleeve and latching herself onto Gaara's arm as if he were her escort. "Come now Gaara-sama, I'm staring and it looks like you could use energy." She encouraged, leading him off with her and leaving the confused guards behind.

Gaara sighed with a hint of annoyance, he was only going to put up with this girl's oddness while they were still in her family home. On the way to the Uchiha manor this was not going to become a normal routine of her doing whatever she so pleased. "You can let go anytime you know," he finally spoke up, becoming a bit uncomfortable from their closeness.

"I know," Sakura said simply, not loosening her grip in the least bit. "I don't want to." She told him, sounding a bit snobbish. Gaara decided not to protest to this, at least for the time being, boy was she in for a rude awakening once they set out on their journey. They finally reached the dining hall and Sakura escorted Gaara into the large room and sat him right beside her. One of the other doors opened and Naruto wobbled in with an ice pack on his head to numb the throbbing in his head.

"Ah man too much sake last night," he whined aloud and then saw Sakura and Gaara already there. "Hey you two how are you this morning?" he asked, still looking drowsy but sat down next to Gaara. Ino walked in after him and shut the door, finally taking her seat beside Sakura.

"My things are all packed as well, we can eat and then leave when you are ready Sakura-sama." She bowed her head respectfully and then looked over to see the chiefs bring their breakfast in and set it all out on the table. It was like a feast ready to be devoured, Naruto greedily started loading his bowl with all his favorite dishes.

Gaara started to pick things he saw that looked good when what Ino had said finally registered in his brain. "Wait one moment, you are coming also?" he asked, looking very confused.

"Of course she is Gaara-sama." Sakura interrupted and broke her chopsticks, eating her rice very lady like. "She's my best friend and my personal maid, I don't go anywhere without her. If I go, she goes. So you really have no choice," she informed him, biting down on a bundle of rice, keeping her mouth closed over the shop sticks and giving him the death stare, daring him to object to her wishes. He glared back, but kept his mouth shut until he took a bit out of a rice ball.

The rest of breakfast went by fast, with idle chit chat between Naruto, Sakura, and Ino. Gaara had to go over their return trip in his mind all over again now that they had a fourth member to their party. How annoying, he thought to himself, setting his chopsticks down once he was full and no longer wished to indulge on this rich-man's food. Naruto did the same and leaned back, rubbing his full stomach. "Arigato Sakura-chan, that breakfast was delicious." He graciously bowed his head in appreciation for the meal. "By the sounds of it I would say that we are all ready to depart. I will go get mine and Gaara's belongings and meet you in the front," Naruto helped himself up and bowed once more to his host and left the room.

"Well then I will meet you two at the front of the house as you ready yourselves for the journey." Gaara said politely, getting up as well and dismissing himself. Sakura watched him leave and sighed, following suit and leaving with Ino as the clean up started to clear the dining room.

-

Gaara took his belongings from Naruto and tied them securely on his back so they would all stay in place in the cloth bag. "What do you think is keeping them?" he asked Naruto, who was doing the same with his cloth bag. Naruto shrugged and looked down the hall, expecting them to be there any moment.

"Well this is the last time Sakura-chan will see her family in a long while, so she probably wants to say goodbye." Naruto suggested, tapped his foot hard on the ground to make sure his shoes were on securely.

Just at that moment Sakura and Ino came into the front, "We're ready, sorry to keep you so long." Ino spoke for the both of them as she slipped on her geta. Sakura did the same and stepped down from the wooden floor, looking sad as she glanced back one more time to see the inside of her home.

"Come on lets go now," Gaara said, placing his hand behind Sakura and leading her forward gently. It must be terrible to leave all your family for someone you don't even know. He would try to be sympathetic. "Come on now Sakura," he looked down at her to try and comfort her in this time of sadness. She looked back at him and smiled softly, but it faded soon after. They all walked out into the beautiful trees and headed towards the last gate that would let them out into the road. The same guard from the day before was there, looking distressed as he watched his princess leaving the Haruno house. He bowed respectfully to her and opened the door for them.

"Be safe princess, may you have a safe journey and may no harm come to you." He smiled to her and she smiled back, waving at him as they passed.

"Do not worry Gouta," she said sweetly. She looked back up at Gaara and truly smiled and rested her hand on his arm, "As long as I am with this one, no harm will ever come to me." She said confidently.

Gaara stared at her, the feeling he had gotten from the words of his memory earlier were coming at this as well.

_A promise._

He looked down to the ground and tried to make sense of this, but nothing came to his mind just the feeling of an oath and a promise. Once they were out the gate closed and the four started down the road on the long journey back to where Sasuke awaited.


	4. Day One

**A/n: Well here is the next chapter, I tried to put a little more humor in it since this next part is their journey. I really hope you all like it because I did put all my heart and soul into it! Now I am off to play Zelda: Wind Waker at mid-night. Heck yes. So please review, I would love it! Thanks!**

"Oh look at that!" Sakura exclaimed excitedly, pointing towards a traveling man on the road. "And that!" she called again, pointing at a woman and child. She was absolutely astonished by each and every little thing of the outside world. What else could be expected from someone who had never been permitted to leave the Haruno estate? "Look ahead it's a town!" Sakura turned around to her traveling party and pointed forward to the small town ahead. "Oh I can't wait to see it up close," she smiled brightly starting to walk ahead of the three. Ino just looked worried and hurried after her, mumbling something that sounded like warnings.

Gaara slowly ran his hand down his face, trying to remain under control of his irritation. This was way too new to him, having to escort a woman who was amazed by every rock and insect they passed. "You ok Gaara?" Naruto asked, smirking slightly as he noted the slight twitch of the red head's eyes.

"Just fine." Gaara said through gritted teeth and clenched fists. "Perfectly fine," he forced out and sped up to try and keep up with the energetic maiden who was now talking to a strange man on the road. Sakura was chatting animatedly with him and he looked more than pleased that he had her attention. Gaara eyed the man suspiciously as he approached and grabbed onto Sakura's wrist forcefully, pulling her away from the conversation. "Come on," he growled lowly, dragging her forward without allowing her to get a word in.

Ino paled and nervously followed the two, as Naruto trailed behind them all laughing hysterically at the scene they were all making. "What are you laughing at?!" Ino practically blew up in the blonde boys face. "How dare you allow him to treat her that way, she is from a prestigious line and he has no right to touch her in the rough manner!" she shrieked, already on the verge of another eruption.

Naruto's laughing softened but he couldn't help but chuckle still, "Ino-chan please, no matter how much you complain Gaara will do what Gaara does. He is very serious and Sakura-chan is making a scene and the more people that notice her the more people Gaara has to watch out for." He pointed out, starting to walk after the arguing blur of pink and red. "Our job is to keep you both safe and it's hard to do that when you just run off and do as you please, this isn't a vacation many people would love to try and get rid of the clan's royalty." He nodded, crossing his arms still laughing softly. Ino sighed and rolled her eyes, walking beside him as she focused ahead on Gaara and Sakura who were now in a heated battle.

"I was _just_ having a conversation with that man!" Sakura yelled in Gaara's face, he growled back viciously, keeping a firm grip on her upper arm.

"I don't need more things to worry about, it's hard enough with you running all over the road at every tiny little thing that you see. We don't have time for that!" he yelled back, glaring harshly at her. She shrunk down slightly from the intensity of his eyes and looked off, more angry than ashamed. "This is not a vacation, this is my mission, people want to kill you. Do you not understand that? Other lesser clans will stop at nothing at this opportunity to remove you from this world and I can't protect you if you keep running off, do you understand that?" Gaara's grip hardened on her arm, since she was remaining silent and not answering him. "Do you understand?" he said again, looking even angrier.

"Yes!" she yelled back, glaring at him as well. He released her and she jerked her arm back following him stubbornly, but silently. Ino hurried to her side and began talking with her silently, mostly asking if she was alright. Naruto sighed and followed silently behind the two women, looking around at the stalls and small shops as they finally entered the town.

Naruto looked towards the sky, it began to orange as the sun was lowering in the west. "Hey Gaara, I think we should probably find an inn to stay in for the night, it will be dark soon." He called to the front.

Gaara looked back towards Naruto and stopped, making the rest stop as well. "Why do we have to stop? Can we not just continue through the town?" he asked, obviously not catching what Naruto was trying to suggest.

"Well Gaara if we continue on it will be dark when we are on the road." He said simply.

"So?" Gaara replied back.

"You can't expect Sakura to camp out in the woods and sleep on the earth." Ino butted into the conversation. She was not going to stand for either of them sleeping on the forest floor, at any point in time.

Gaara rolled his eyes, crossing his arms stubbornly and refusing to look at any of them. "Fine. Do whatever you want but we leave at dawn, no exceptions." He told them, knowing he would lose the argument anyway if he continued on.

"And that means," Sakura smiled and looked around the town, "we get to explore the town!" she cheered happily. Naruto just laughed as Ino and Sakura already started towards stands with decorative fans and necklaces. Gaara just smacked his forehead, letting out an annoyed sigh, turning to walk off.

"Watch them like a hawk Naruto, I'm going to go to that inn at the end and get us two rooms." He told him, pointing towards the nice looking inn that was decorated elegantly on the outside. "I need some peace, if only for a little. I'll meet up with you later," Gaara sighed once more and took the things Naruto was carrying and Naruto's own bag. He left the small group and headed towards the inn, glad he didn't have to listen to the constant chatter of women. As he approached the woman at the front trying to get customers saw him and smiled, opening the door for him. "Thank you," he nodded and headed into the nice, silent, front room.

Gaara stopped at the desk where a dark haired man was looking through some papers vigorously. "I'd like two room, with two each." He told the manager who looked up and nodded, the man turned around and called someone's name from down a hallway. A short woman, probably his daughter came running out and breathing harshly.

"Yes father?" she asked kindly.

"Take this samurai's things," he ordered. She nodded and proceeded to Gaara holding her arms out for the luggage. He handed the things to her and then returned his attention to the inn keeper, "Now that will be 1,250 yen."

Gaara fished for his wallet and pulled out the amount, handing it to the man and then following the girl upstairs to the rooms. She stopped at one of the rooms and slide the door open for him, placing his belongings inside as well. "We have a special hot spring down stairs for our guests so please feel free to visit it," she smiled respectfully and bowed before leaving him. He looked around the room and slid the door closed so that no one else could bother him.

"Finally," he whispered surrounded by silence and darkness. Gaara went to the futon and lay down as soon as he could, he was tired of playing baby sitter. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, but odd images kept flashing around in his head. There was a blonde girl reaching out for him, people surrounding them and then nothing but red. He opened his eyes and saw nothing but darkness, it was a relief from the image he had just seen. "What was that?" he asked himself, staring at the ceiling now that his eyes had adjusted. He slowly closed his once more and tried to relax once more, doing his best to keep his mind blank of all things.

_Those fierce green eyes stared at him innocently, filling with nervousness. "Gaara-sama, I wish you would smile. I love when you smile" the small pink haired girl said sadly. She looked down, gripping tightly on her kimono, they were surrounded by the falling pink cherry blossom petals in a familiar garden. "I will do whatever it takes to make you smile again!" she promised, looking up with determination burning in her eyes. _

Gaara sat up wide eyed in the darkness. He could feel his own breathing had picked up from the odd dream, these couldn't be memories. He had never seen Sakura before in his entire life until now, but the image was so vivid every little thing he could remember about her. "Impossible," he told himself angrily and shoved the thoughts aside. He got up from the bed and opened the door, he couldn't stand this darkness or this silence any longer. How ironic.

He shut the door softly behind him, so he wouldn't disturb any of the other people in the inn. He walked down the stairs and out into the streets, wondering where the other three must be now, Gaara hadn't realized how much time had passed while he was in there. It was already dark now and the streets were lit up with lanterns, it was actually very inviting how they set up the whole shopping district. It was almost like a festival, people were out and enjoying themselves at the shops. Gaara just searched the crowd, spotting the pink haired princess would probably be the easiest since she stood out so much. He turned around and saw Naruto and Ino at a mask stall, he walked over towards them and tapped on Naruto's shoulder. Ino turned around and saw Gaara glancing around, Naruto did the same but he had a kitsune mask tied on the side of his head. "Oh hey Gaara, you all better now?" he teased, giving him a friendly grin.

"Where's Sakura?" was his only reply.

"Oh relax," Naruto smiled and pointed over Gaara's shoulder. "She's right-" Naruto's eyes went over to the area he had pointed and he froze instantly. "She was just right there!" he panicked, looking around hastily. Gaara turned around and looked through the crowd trying to spot any sign of her, great this is what happens when you leave Naruto in charge of watching two women and he loses the most important one. Gaara began to push through the crowd in a hurry, hearing people's protest but his anxious and irritated look must have stopped them from confronting him further.

"Sakura!" he called out, not giving a second thought of how insane he must look right now. "Sakura!!" he yelled even louder than before. This was bad, very bad. What if someone had taken her? Or even killed her? He shoved through another crowd hoping to see her pink hair anywhere. But he saw nothing, he could feel the fear crawling around in his stomach, which was odd. He wasn't afraid of Sasuke, he hadn't even of thought of Sasuke being the reason why he was looking so vigorously for her, but then what was it? "Sakura!" Gaara yelled once more, hoping to get an answer.

"What?" a familiar, but annoyed voice asked from very close. Gaara turned around to see brilliant green eyes staring back at him. Relief washed over him and that was when he truly realized just how scared he was that she might have been gone. "What??" she asked again, looking irritated now.

"Are you alright? Where were you?" he asked, stepping closer to her and examining her whole body to make sure there was nothing wrong. Her gaze turned from annoyance to worry as he finally began to relax.

"I'm fine, why are you so worked up? I just went to go get some dumplings." She said, holding up the small box she had just purchased. "I was hungry…" she said looking ashamed now, like she had just committed a crime.

Gaara just breathed out and grabbed onto arm gently, "You shouldn't go off like that. Who knows what could have happened."

"Well sorry baby sitter, I didn't know you would have a panic attack." She rolled her eyes, taking one of the dumplings and biting down on it. She watched his worried expression turn to anger and annoyance. "I'm sorry, alright. I didn't even know you were here so don't get mad at me." She told him sternly.

Sakura looked around at the crowd and then back up at him, "You really shouldn't worry so much. I'm fine, nothing is going to happen to me. I mean really Gaara the three seconds you happened to be here was the time I was gone, I was coming back when I heard you making all this commotion. Here," she took one of the dumplings out of the box and held it to him. "Try one, there good." She smiled up at him, her anger had already evaporated from her mind. Gaara just took a deep breath and tried to do the same, taking the dumpling and biting into it. He looked at Sakura's face and found himself staring at it, Sakura blinked and stared back at him as her cheeks began to get a tint or red. "Umm," she gulped unable to pull her eyes away from his. "Is something wrong?" she asked quietly.

Gaara finally broke from his trance and shook his head, "No, nothing's wrong. Come on now it's getting late we need to get some rest. We're leaving pretty early," he told her holding his hand out to her. He was going to make sure he knew where she was from this point on, he took it hesitantly. They walked together in silence towards where Ino and Naruto had been, it was easy to locate them because they were doing the exact same thing Gaara had been doing. Once they had the other two in view Gaara cleared his throat. "I've found her," he said loud enough for them to hear.

The other blonde's looked towards them and Ino practically bombarded Sakura with a hug, "Oh we were so worried about you Sakura! Please don't ever wander off again!" she begged, giving Sakura a tight squeeze. "Unless you're with me alright? You big dummy," she smiled and hugged her once more before letting go.

"Well good to see you alright Sakura-chan," Naruto smiled and looked just as relieved as Ino did. "Well we should probably get to the inn then, right?" he asked, looking at Gaara for the answer.

"Yeah, it's getting late. But they have a hot spring, so you two might like it." Gaara said, trying to lighten up at least a little bit.

They all headed back towards the inn that Gaara had been to earlier, the keeper greeted them with a nod as he was counting money at the front. Once they were upstairs Gaara showed them their rooms and gave Sakura and Ino their things. Awhile later there was a small knock on their door, Naruto got up and slid the door open to see Ino and Sakura. "Hello ladies, is something wrong?"

"Oh no," Sakura smiled and waved her hands in front of herself. "We were just telling you that we were going down to the hot spring now." She said excitedly, clasping her hands together.

"Well then we are too," Gaara said, grabbing one of his swords and heading for the door. Naruto blinked, looking confused.

"We are?" he asked.

"Well we are not leaving them alone. Anything could happen." He said firmly as Naruto sighed.

"At least it will be relaxing…" he groaned, but he really wanted to sleep.

They all headed down stairs and towards the hall that was located down stairs. There were two doors right beside each other, one for men and one for women. Gaara looked alarmed and stared at the two girls. Sakura sighed and waved at him, "Don't worry if something happens I'll yell for you," she promised, giving him a comforting smile.

"Fine." He said simply, as him and Naruto headed into the men's side. There was a small room for changing in the front and fresh towels were piled on a table. Both Gaara and Naruto untied their clothes and wrapped towels around their lower bodies and headed into the room that contained the hot spring. It was filled with a warm steam and was formed into two baths that were separated by a folding wall made of bamboo. Gaara slipped into the water, he cringed slightly, it was really, really hot. He finally managed to settle in the hot water and get to a comfortable tolerance.

He placed his sword on the floor beside him and out of the water, so it would be ready if he needed it. Naruto eased in and smiled, sinking deeper into the water. He was instantly relaxed and closed his eyes, Gaara did the same and leaned against the smooth rocks in the spring. It was very relaxing and he could feel his muscles loosen. Then he heard Sakura's yell and his muscles tightened right back up, he got out of the water as fast as he could, grabbing his sword and slicing through the bamboo as if it were nothing. The makeshift wall fell and he rushed in, ready to attack but all he saw was a wide eyed Sakura and Ino, staring at him in horror. He looked around and then blinked, fantastic now he looked like an idiot.

Sakura turned a bright red seeing Gaara in only a towel and all the years of his hard training apparent all over his deliciously mouth water body. She could see the muscles in his arms, the smooth lines of his abs, and the strength of his legs. "The…the water was just hot." She told him, gulping, knowing he came in here valiantly because he had probably heard her yell from the hot water. Ino was just horrified that someone was seeing her without her clothing on and just a towel.

Gaara couldn't help but stare at Sakura and for the first time a very deep red blush rose on his face. "I'm…I'm sorry I heard you yell and…I'm sorry." She sheathed his sword quickly and turned around getting out of there as fast as he possibly could. Sakura just blinked and stared after him as Naruto followed him out, she looked over at Ino and sunk down into the water.

"Oh my goodness." She mumbled, almost breathless.

"What?" Ino looked over at her, still in somewhat of a shock.

"All I could remember was Gaara as a kid, when we would go swimming with Temari and my mother in the stream that ran right beside the house. I didn't…I couldn't even…wow. He is defiantly not a kid anymore," Sakura said breathlessly, moving her hand to her cheek. She could feel the heat radiating from it and she knew it wasn't from the hot spring. Sakura sunk into the steaming water and ran her hands through her hair, trying to get it as clean as she could. She came up and took a deep refreshing breathe. She finally stood up, holding her wet towel closely to her body and got out of the water. "I really need some sleep," she said nervously, walking with Ino the front of the hot spring and getting a fresh towel to dry herself with. Once the two were dry, they changed back into their clothes and headed out to the front and up the stairs, Sakura couldn't help but thinking about what she had seen. Ino opened the door for her and she just went in still dazed and lost in her thoughts. Sakura began to change into something that she could sleep in, she didn't even realize Ino was trying to get her attention.

Finally she heard her friend's voice, "Sakura!"

"Huh?" she looked over to Ino, wondering what she wanted.

"Are you alright? You zoning out and not paying attention to anything." She told her, crossing her arms and waiting for an explanation.

"Oh nothing, sorry Ino. I'm just really tired." Sakura lied and lay down on her bed, pulling the covers over her and trying to think of something else.

"Alright…" Ino said doubtfully, walking over to the candle in the room and blowing it out. "Good night Sakura," she said, yawning in midsentence.

"Goodnight Ino."


	5. Circus

**A/n: Hello, hello! Yay! An update! Please no one shank me __ All there is to really say is…enjoy. Please review it makes me go to my happy place…and I don't own Naruto. –Cries.- But I do have a Gaara plushy and for now, it's good enough…for now….**

"I'm tired!" Sakura whined aloud, walking behind Gaara haggardly.

"Well you should have gotten some sleep last night," Gaara replied, his arms tightly crossed over his chest.

"Will you carry me? I'm too exhausted to walk," Sakura pouted, giving Gaara a pleading look.

He glanced back at her, letting out a skeptical laugh. "Yeah right. I'll carry you when you collapse from exhaustion."

Sakura groaned and slumped forward, yawning loudly and rubbing her tired eyes in attempt to get the sleepiness out. Ino stared wide eyed at the two, she looked beside her giving Naruto a questioning look. "I know," he said softly, "I think it's weird how they act too."

"Why do we have to get up so early?" Sakura asked, but her voice was tired and annoyed.

"Because," Gaara began, sighing as he looked back towards her. "I would like to spend as little time on the road as I possibly can, if we leave at day break we get more light for the journey and thus more ground covered." He explained, rambling on about other things that would help them get home faster. Sakura rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in rebellion.

"What if I don't want to get there so soon?" she smirked, eyeing the back of his head and waiting for a reaction.

Unfortunately Gaara gave her exactly what she wanted. He stopped and turned halfway to see her smug face. "And what exactly do you mean by that?" he asked, trying to remain calm and handle this situation as well as he could.

"Exactly what it sounds like, I'm not all that thrilled about marrying some guy I've never met before. So if you want to get there with as little problems as possible I think we should have a little bit of fun on this journey." She said simply, resting her hands on her hips and holding her head high.

Gaara laughed and shook his head, actually smiling at the thought of her trying to control him. "I don't think so Sakura, you're not in charge here. I am and we're not making any detours." He stated, as his smile turned to a victorious smirk.

"So you just want to get me there and married as soon as you can?" She arched her brow, waiting for a reply as she moved her hands from her hips and crossed her arms. Gaara's smirk disappeared, he was dumbfounded for once in his life. He actually had no answer for that. In fact he could even feel the thought of her marrying Sasuke as repulsive, even jealousy seemed be gnawing at his insides. No that was impossible, he told himself. Sakura's stubborn look softened as she watched Gaara's expression change. He was really thinking about it, which meant she did mean more to him than a delivery and even though he didn't know why, he was still clinging desperately to his past. "Gaara?" Sakura spoke up and finally broke Gaara from his mental fight. He looked up at her, for a brief moment there was an innocent and confused look but it was soon replaced with his normal stoic face.

"Come on," he ordered, turning his back towards her and walking off. Sakura looked down at the ground, her hands forming into tight fists. Why wouldn't he remember anything? She knew it was him, it was impossible that anyone resembled him so intimately. Naruto and Ino passed her to follow Gaara and she could vaguely hear Ino's call for her to catch up. Sakura looked up, seeing their backs and grit her teeth together in anger. She was going to make him remember no matter what she had to do. She glanced over towards the trees, they were pretty close to the road. She could probably make it before Gaara would have a chance to react. Sakura started walking forward, slowly making her way closer to the trees. Maybe if she put herself in danger Gaara's memories would reawaken, his promise from the past might just get something to surface. She craftily slipped her shoes off, walking bare foot now. No one seemed to be paying attention, it was the prime opportunity. As quietly as possible Sakura took off towards the trees, making it past one before she heard Ino yelling after her and then Naruto's loud shout. She could only imagine Gaara's angry face and how pissed he was going to be when he caught her. Hopefully some of his memories would return before then. She could still hear the shouting as she dodged through the trees. She glanced back to make sure she wasn't near being caught, which had been a fatal mistake. Sakura yelled out as she slid down a steep hill and landed down on the forest floor. She groaned loudly, reaching behind her and rubbing her back to try and sooth the impact shock. She helped herself up and looked around for any sign of the others but now she didn't hear anything, she backed up slowly and bumped into a large figure. Sakura gulped, knowing it was probably Gaara "to the rescue". She turned around ready to apologize but was horrified to see it wasn't Gaara at all.

"Well now," a rugged and harsh looking man smirked showing off his missing tooth. "What a great day I picked to take a walk," he laughed harshly, grabbing onto Sakura before she could take another step. "Now what's a pretty little flower like you doing all by yourself in a place like this? You could get into trouble here." He laughed loudly, slamming her into a nearby tree. She yelled out in pain, wincing from the new head ache that had just formed in the back of her head.

"Let me go." She ordered, glaring at him hatefully. Her glare quickly changed to shock as her kimono began to come undone. "Let go!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, trying to break free from his hold. She could feel his hand on her thigh and rising higher, "Please stop…" she cried now, shutting her eyes tightly as the tears flowed down her cheeks. This was horrible, why had she done such a stupid thing! Now she was in the middle of the forest with a rapist or worse. Suddenly the force was gone and Sakura heard something splatter on the tree right besides her head.

She slowly opened her eyes and screamed again seeing the decapitated man still holding onto her. The body was immediately jerked off and tossed to the side. Sakura stared in horror at the body, still shaking from the trauma. She looked back in front of her and saw Gaara, wiping the blood off his sword with a cloth. She felt tears swell up in her eyes once more, she had never been happier to see him with that angry look on his face. He finally sheathed his sword and met her gaze, the anger in his eyes not letting up. "What on earth were you thinking?" he yelled, now glaring at her.

Sakura didn't hear anything he said, she just fell into his arms and cried, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I promise I will behave and I won't do anything stupid ever again!" Gaara let his arms support her and looked down at the top of her head. She was still shaking and gripping tightly onto his shirt. His body reacted in a way he wasn't expecting, he pulled her closer, pressing their bodies together and rest his head on hers as she cried. Why was he doing something like this? She had done something terribly stupid. But she was scared and he wanted nothing more than to stop her crying. "I'm so sorry Gaara," she sobbed out again. "I was just trying to make you remember…I'm sorry it was stupid!"

"It's ok…" he said softly, feeling his own grip on her tighten. He pressed his face into her soft pink hair and closed his eyes, feeling at peace.

_I will always protect you. From everything. _

Gaara's eyes flew open as the words drifted through his head. "If you're going to keep trying…will you at least try without running off? How am I supposed to protect you if you are not by my side?" he asked, feeling her grip tighten.

"I'm sorry," she whispered again, nuzzling her face into his safe being.

Gaara held her tightly for one more brief moment before, moving away from her and trying to get a look at her face. He lifted her chin up with one of his hands and examined her with worried eyes. "You're not hurt are you?" he asked, staring into her wide eyes. She shook her head slowly, releasing her grip on him as she moved her hands more towards his chest. Their faces seemed to be inching closer until Gaara wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her against him once more and causing their lips to meet. Sakura's arm went instantly around his neck, bringing him down towards her, only deepening their heated kiss. As quickly as it had happened Gaara tore away from her, panting loudly and looking horrified. What had he just done? He literally hit himself in the head as hard as possible. Mostly just to make sure that stupid brain of his was actually still in there. Sakura stared at him, breathless and trying to control her flustered breathing. Her fingers traced over her tingling lips slowly as she lost herself in a daze.

Gaara turned around and punched the nearest tree with all his might. He glared hatefully at it as he pounded away at the bark, doing more harm to his knuckles than he was doing to the tree. "Why!" he yelled at her, finally facing her and focusing his hateful gaze on her. She stared back in shock, watching him approach her in an angry fury. "Why do you make me feel this way? Why do I want you so badly? I want it to stop! Your face, your body, even your scent is disgustingly familiar and I have no idea why! I just want it to stop!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, his angered face only growing into a more psychotic look. Sakura was scared stiff, her eyes wide and afraid of this new phase she hadn't seen before. She glanced down at his red hands and saw that the redness was blood that was leaking out from the fresh cuts on his knuckles.

"Gaara your-" she began, but his shouting started once more.

"NO! Do not speak to me! I can't stand your voice! I can't stand the way I want to hear your words! I want you to stay the hell away from me for the rest of this journey! Naruto will guard you! I won't let whatever this is destroy my life and all I have worked for!" he yelled even louder, grabbing the hilt of his sword and ripping it from its sheath, cutting straight through the thick trunk of the nearest tree. Sakura's eyes started to water and the tears fell in steams down her face. She had never seen him like this, he was breathing harshly, looking more like a wild animal than anything else. He looked as if he had finally snapped and everything around him was falling apart, which in retrospect was pretty correct. The world as he knew it was crumbling slowly around him and he couldn't handle it. Gaara sank to his knees, holding his head with both his hands and yelling at the top of his lungs. Sakura went to him immediately kneeling beside him to try and comfort him.

The second she touched him, his psychotic glare shifted to her form and before she even knew what was happening she was on her back. She tried to breathe but a strong hand was wrapped around her throat cutting off all oxygen. Gaara glared down beneath him at her frail figure and her thin neck. His grip tightened on her neck as he hovered over her, leaning closer with a psychotic but devastated smile. "I really just want to kill you. It would be so easy, I could make this all go away." He said to her with a malicious smile that soon turned to a pained grin. Sakura could feel her head getting lighter and tried weakly to claw his hands away from her throat. She stared up at his dulled eyes, water spilling from her own as she tried to make him release her. But she knew it was hopeless, he was overwhelmingly more powerful than she was and there was no way she could break his iron grip. Just before she thought she was going to go unconscious from the lack of air, his hand flew away like he had been burned. Now he looked horrified and he got away from her as fast as possible, stumbling back, eyes wide. He yelled again, grabbing his head with both hands again and falling back to the ground and trying to contain these chaotic emotions.

Sakura was coughing, rubbing her sore throat and trying to get as much air to her lungs as she could. Still trying to regulate her breathing she glanced over at Gaara who was having another episode. She gulped, she was actually afraid of him. She got up, moved over beside him and when he didn't try and get away from her she sat down and wrapped both her arms around his waist. His screaming started to die down, until he fell over into her arms completely. Sakura held him tightly, feeling his own hands grip tightly onto her legs. "Why are you doing this to me?" he asked, sounding pained. She leaned forward, getting a tighter hold on him and laying her head on his back.

"I'm sorry…" was all she could mutter out. She could feel her tears staining his shirt as she cried, she hadn't thought that trying to have him remember would cause him pain. At least not pain like this, it absolutely broke her heart. "Please forgive me Gaara. I am so, so sorry." She whispered once more, holding him even more tightly.

"I shouldn't feel like this." He told her in a muffled voice. She didn't reply, staying close to him and sharing his heat. She could feel his breathing start to regulate and as it did he moved from her grasp and sat up, refusing to look at her. "We really need to get going and find Naruto." He said sadly, getting up on his own and dusting the dirt off his clothes. He finally glanced at her face and let his hand down to help her up. She placed her hand in his and was pulled up easily by his strength.

Sakura looked down at herself and sighed, she looked like trash. Her kimono was dirty and wrinkled, messed up from her attacker and probably from Gaara as well. She took a moment to fix herself and ran her hands through her hair to try and look presentable. "Try not to wander off again." Gaara said simply, not giving her another glance as he started walking off towards the road. She was glad he knew where he was going because she had no idea which way she had ran and fallen. There hike was silent. Sakura was too afraid to say anything that might make him erupt again. Eventually she could see the road from the breaks in the trees and heard the calls coming from Ino. Once they finally emerged from the forest Ino let out a cry and ran towards Sakura, wrapping her arms around her tightly and crying.

"Sakura! I was so scared! Why would you do something like this? Look at you!" Ino tore her worried eyes from Sakura and glared at Gaara, "What did you do to her? She's a mess!" Ino accused and marched up to Gaara poking him harshly in the chest. Naruto, who had recently come out from the tree's paled at the sight of Ino taking on Gaara. He looked over at Sakura who looked fine, but ruffed up.

Gaara grabbed Ino's finger tightly, before she could get another jab at him. His glare easily trumped hers as his grip tightened. "I didn't-" he began angrily and then fell silent remembering what had happened after he saved her. He released Ino's finger and moved away from her, the beautiful blonde stared after him in confusion. "Naruto. I want you to watch over Sakura. I find that I am no longer able to do so." Gaara said solemnly. He adjusted his swords and started back on the road ahead of them all.

Naruto gave a long sigh and stared after him. He gestured for Ino to go ahead and follow Gaara as he escorted Sakura at the back of the group. He didn't want to pry, but Sakura noticed he was nervously biting his lower lip. "You can ask if you want." She said quietly.

"Well," Naruto began, looking at her pained face, almost deciding against asking. "What happened? Are you sure you're alright?" he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She closed her eyes tightly and let out a deep breath that made her shoulders sag.

"When I was running, some man attacked me and tried to have his way with me. That was when Gaara came and killed him. Everything was fine until…" she stopped, biting down harshly on her lower lip. She couldn't bring herself to go on. She shook her head and Naruto gave her an understanding nod. He moved his hand from her shoulder and rubbed her back comfortingly.

"It's alright Sakura, everything will be alright. After today we will be at your new home in three days. I promise you will love it there and Sasuke…isn't…that bad." He tried to manage a smile. He didn't mean to scare Sakura but he wouldn't be that excited about marrying the new Uchiha heir.

The rest of the day continued in silence, no one said a word. They continued down the road passing a few farms and farmers who waved kindly at the travelers. Ino gave them a friendly wave as they continued on, the sun getting lower and lower as their feet carried them closer to their destination. The sun was hiding behind the trees by the time they saw light ahead. "Finally," Gaara breathed out. The closer they got to the town though, the more unnatural noise they heard. That was when Gaara stopped and his emotionless face set into a hard frown.

"A circus!" Naruto exclaimed, his joy apparent on his face. Te word circus definitely got Ino and Sakura's attention. The two girls looked up and Ino smiled as well, she tugged on Sakura's sleeve.

"Look Sakura we can have some fun here to lighten the mood!" the blonde tried to seem upbeat which worked a little because Sakura smiled and nodded. Ino looked at Naruto who then looked at Gaara. He growled in reply, not liking the idea of fun. But by now they were already walking along side of the festival.

"But the town…it's just there…" he finally pointed to a near-by town, the one he had mistaken this horrid, colorful place for.

"Come on Gaara," Naruto smiled and nudged his friend. "We could all use some relaxing and like you said. The town is just right there, we can have some fun and loosen up. Then head for bed at the nearest inn." He suggested, leaning his arm on one of his swords and flashing him a hopeful smile.

Gaara seemed doubtful, he really didn't enjoy things like this but when he looked at Sakura and saw the sadness she was harboring he decided he might as well let them have fun while they could. At least nothing seemed too bad about this place. "Fine," he agreed. "Go on," he gestured for them to go wild.

"Aren't you going to come?" Sakura had finally found her voice and immediately regretted uttering the words. She pressed her lips together in attempt to look as if she hadn't spoken. Gaara simply stared at her, about to decline when Naruto spoke for him.

"Of course he's coming Sakura, no need to worry about that. In fact Ino and I are going to go off and explore the place. Take good care of the princess Gaara." Naruto waved, grabbing Ino's wrist and dragging her off before she could get in a word of protest. Sakura watched Naruto drag Ino off, literally kicking and screaming.

Gaara stared after them as well, mouth agape. There was no way that had just happened, he finally looked back from the crowd the two blondes had disappeared in and let his eyes fall on Sakura. She glanced at him as well, seeing he was staring at she quickly averted her eyes. "Well," he began softly, it was awkward speaking to her for the first time since their _tussle_. "Would you like me to escort you around?" he asked deciding to leave out the fact that now he simply had to.

"You don't have to Gaara," she said just as quietly as he had. She looked back towards him and let her eyes linger with his. "It's ok, I don't mind going to an inn and calling it a night. It has been…quite a day." She breathed out, choosing her words carefully.

"No, no. It's really alright. Only if you want to I mean. I don't want to force you. It has been a pretty long day as you have said." He countered, trying to make sure he did what she wanted. She deserved it after all, since he had tried to kill her earlier.

"Gaara it's really ok. Whatever you want is usually what's best, so…" she trailed off. This was going nowhere they were literally talking in circles. She sighed and Gaara, before she could even mutter a word misinterpreted it, blurted out and apology.

"What?" Sakura asked, wide eyed and astonished into a stupor.

"I'm…sorry. I didn't mean to harm you earlier." He admitted, though she already knew he had never meant to intentionally hurt her.

"Gaara that wasn't-" she began but was interrupted by his rant.

"It's just…" he paced back and forth in a small area. "Something about you sets me on edge and I don't want anything to happen to you…" he continued, going on and on. Sakura started getting a little aggravated that he wasn't giving her room to speak. He really didn't need to apologize or explain himself.

"Gaara. It's fine, really. I just-" she started again and was once more interrupted.

"No, no. It's not alright it was not my place to be harsh with you, I mean your royalty." He looked down and sighed, this was going nowhere.

"GAARA!" Sakura yelled at the top of her lungs to try and get his attention. He glanced at her to see her angry face, she was breathing harshly. "If you would be quiet for five seconds you could hear me tell you that it's alright. Now will you shut up and just escort me already?" she huffed, crossing her arms and waiting for his reply.

"Oh," he actually felt a little embarrassed. He had never actually gone into a rant before, he nodded letting Sakura take the lead as she walked off into the crowd. He walked beside her, looking around at all the stalls and games they had. There were large tents set up all over the place, housing who knew what.

"Let's go over to that one and see what's inside." She smiled and pointed to one of the largest tents that was made of a red and yellow fabric. They made their way over towards the entrance and gave the man two coins for admission. Gaara pulled the fabric back for Sakura and they walked in looking around at the enormous and colorful inside. "Wow," she gaped, it was definitely not a surrounding that she was used to. "Gaara look a juggler!" she grabbed the sleeve of his kimono, tugging lightly, as she pointed towards the oddly dressed man throwing object high in the air and making an art out it.

"Um…great." He said, trying to sound interested. Then a booming voice came from the center of the tent ordering the guests to take their seats. Gaara led Sakura over and they sat down in the front row. Sakura looked more than excited, Gaara just crossed his arms over his chest, hiding his hands in his sleeves.

Drums filled the background with their loud noise as people came out with painted faces and odd clothing. They tossed different objects around, like the juggler from before. Sakura's smile only grew as she watched the show like a small child. Gaara let out an inaudible sigh, he didn't want to ruin the moment for the princess. He glanced over towards the back of the tent to see the ring leader talking with another of the workers. Gaara's stare turned into an alert glare. The two were staring directly at Sakura. His hand moved instantly to the hilt of his sword, an overwhelming sense of foreboding washed over him. Why on earth had he agreed to let them roam around an extremely public area? It would only jeopardize the mission. "Sakura…" Gaara tried to start but the overwhelming boom of the ring leader's voice cut him off. Gaara focused back on the man who was captivating the audience, but his glances at Sakura did not go unnoticed.

"NOW!" the ring leader began, smiling wide to show he was happy to be there. "For the next act we need a volunteer," he stopped and looked around the crowd that was now going wild. Sakura held up her hand as high as she could. Gaara growled and grabbed her wrist, jerking her hand back down to her lap. "You there, young lady with the pink hair." the master yelled and Sakura's face broke into a smile. Gaara attempted another grab at Sakura but she was already up and out into the center.

"Sakura," Gaara tried to call without drawing attention to himself. Sakura looked back and gave him a warm smile.

"Relax Gaara," she said softly, continuing her stride to the man. "There's nothing to be so protective about." She assured him and stood beside the tall man who was now introducing the magician. The man who came out was the man that Gaara has seen talking to the ring leader. Gaara felt his stomach literally drop.

"Hello, hello." The magician waved, his black cloak billowing in the small breeze that seemed to blow through at the exact right moment. "For my first trick I am going to make this young lady…disappear!" he called out and the crowd applauded and cheered waiting to see the magic. As the crowd cheered him on, two other men rolled out a cage towards the center. Once the cage was in the center of the ring the ring leader and one of the helpers left the floor. "Now Miss…if you would please make your way into the cage." He asked, holding his hand out to Sakura and leading her over to the door. And uneasy look crossed her face but she went in anyway. The assistant took a chain and wrapped it around the iron, locking it in place. Then the assistant threw a red velvet curtain over the cage. Gaara's grip tightened on his sword, he really did not like where this was going. "And now I will make her disappear…" the man trailed off and waved his hands towards the cage and called out the ancient words. The curtain flew off and the cage was empty. The crowd went crazy, clapping and yelling for more. Gaara was out of the stands in less than a second, pushing off the seat with his foot and running at the magician with his sword drawn. He slammed the man against the metal cage and held his sword to his throat.

"Where is she?" Gaara demanded, pushing his blade closer to the man's neck. "Tell me NOW. Or you will die." He seethed, his glare becoming even icier. He got nothing but silence from the man, but a movement from the crack in the corner caught his eye. The crowd had gone quiet now and he could hear the muffled yells, he released the magician and ran towards the entrance for the performers. He sliced through the curtain door and slid to a stop. Gaara looked around, trying to spot Sakura but saw nothing.

"GAARA!" a shrill scream pierced the silent air. He turned in the direction of the noise and raced towards it. There was another exit from the tent and just as Gaara burst through it he saw the ring leader tossing a tied Sakura into the back of a carriage. The two men's gazes met and Gaara charged at him with his sword ready to slice his head clear off. The master of the tent smirked and smacked the back of one of the horses and they took off, the other assistant steering the carriage off towards the road.

"Sakura!" Gaara yelled after her, trying to chase after the speeding horses. He turned towards the man and grabbed him by the throat before he could even mutter a taunt. Gaara's glare was filled with so much hate that the man paled right before him. "WHERE?" Gaara demanded, placing the tip of his sword at the man's stomach.

Gaara could feel the man try and get a gulp down, he could tell just by Gaara's eyes that he was going to kill him if he didn't tell him. "Th-the Hyuuga prefecture. Neutral ground is the best place for trafficking…and ransom. It's the Cherry Blossom Princess…I know, she's even more beautiful than I thought she would be. Everyone knows she's out in the open, you're going to have a hard time protecting her from all the gangs that want her. Can you even manage to get her to the Uchiha manor?" he laughed coldly, having trouble with the action from the constriction on his throat. "A lowly samurai can do no-" he was silenced by the sharp pain that was sent through his stomach.

Gaara pulled his sword out and released the criminal. He fell to the ground with a thud, now gasping and trying to hold his wound. "You're going to suffer," Gaara promised and impaled his sword downward at the juncture between his neck and his shoulder. The man cried out in agony and Gaara once more pulled his blade from the soft flesh. He leaned down and ripped a piece of the man's clothes and cleaned his sword of the filthy blood. He sheathed his weapon and walked hurriedly through the seemingly normal circus. As soon as he saw the two blondes he grabbed Naruto by the collar and pulled him towards a quieter area.

"Where's Sakura?" Naruto asked dumbly.

Gaara didn't reply and Ino blew up in his face. "Where is she! You lost her? What happened! I can't rely on you at all you stupid samurai!" she screamed, going red in the face from anger. Gaara quickly threw her a glare which shut her up only momentarily.

"Don't you glare at me," she hissed, her glare now challenging his. "You LOST princess Sakura!"

"Look if we're going to point blame then this is all Naruto's fault. He made us stay at this stupid place." Gaara countered and Ino's glared quickly fixated on Naruto. Gaara let out a deep breath, "Ok, relax. At least I know where they are headed. We just have to make an unexpected detour. They said she was being taken to the Hyuuga prefecture. So let's just go there and get her." Gaara tried to sound calm but his insides felt like they were on fire. He needed to kill and he was going to. The man who had taken Sakura was going to suffer and anyone who got in his way was going to regret they ever met him. He stopped himself and thought deeply, this was unnatural to feel. He never felt anything like this before. "Come on," he said trying to tear away from the thoughts that were now haunting him. "Let's hurry," he nodded and started walking with the other two behind him.


End file.
